DOVER, Del. — Dover Police are moving forward with plans to expand the city’s surveillance camera network with an artificial intelligence system designed to flag possible firearms.
The system, known as ZeroEyes, would scan hundreds of existing city cameras and alert trained reviewers when it detects what appears to be a weapon. Police Chief Thomas Johnson says the goal is to help officers respond more quickly to potential gun-related threats.
“It sends an alert to the functional equivalent of an alarm company,” Johnson said. “And at that facility, there are trained people to verify that the technology is correct, that it just saw a gun.”
Those alerts are then reviewed by trained personnel before being forwarded to Dover police for any response in the field.
Johnson says the technology is designed to work alongside existing camera systems and focuses specifically on identifying firearms.
“The AI is solely focused on firearms,” Johnson told WBOC. “This technology interfaces with our existing city camera systems… it's been trained to understand the shape of any manufactured firearm on the planet.”
Supporters of the system say it could help prevent violent incidents before they unfold. William Tolson of Dover said any added layer of detection is a positive step.
“Anything that can help us, especially with gun detection, is great because innocent people die,” Tolson said.
Others like Ennio Zaragoza say the technology could help improve public safety.
“I think the more security we can have, I think is a good thing,” Zaragoza said.
Officials say the contract is still awaiting final approval from the Dover City Council, which is expected to take it up at its next meeting. No timeline has been set for when the system will go live, but police say they are hoping to begin implementation in the coming months.
